Phish fans wade into Saratoga for SPAC concerts

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Tents were already up this morning after the first waves of Phish fans waded into the Spa City Friday for three days of concerts at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

SPAC President and Executive Director Marcia White said they expected the concerts to be nearly sold out all three nights but that tonight would be the most crowded.

The venue can hold 25,000 people at capacity, but police expect another 5,000 to 7,000 outside the fence, listening from the parking lot.

"They're all over the place," Saratoga Springs Police Lt. John Catone said. "It can be problematic."

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For a while, at around 7:15 p.m. Friday, lightning prompted SPAC to briefly hold off lawn admissions and offered lawn ticket holders the cover of the amphitheater. But the rain passed quickly and the skies were blue again.

Phish could be compared to a modern version of the Grateful Dead, with a massive following.

The jam band's concerts at SPAC have a history of producing several drug arrests. There was already one arrest late Friday afternoon; city police said they would have details of all weekend incidents ready on Monday.

Over two nights of Phish shows from the previous year, police reported 68 arrests.

"You name the drug and at this type of concert, we'll probably come across it," Catone said. "Last year was our first experience with bath salts, and that was at the Phish show."

State park police, who handle all activity within SPAC and Saratoga Spa State Park, are pulling resources statewide, including additional park police and rangers, to control the crowds expected at the concerts.

City police also met with representatives from Saratoga Hospital this week to discuss the increase in drug overdoses and other injuries Catone said police expect.

For example, last year a naked woman climbed a 25-foot light post and "stepped off," breaking her ankles and her wrist.

The city police numbers are being augmented by New York State Police, which is lending manpower, but Catone said officers still struggle to manage the crowds.

Friday, Police Chief Greg Veitch was in a patrol car to contribute to the public safety efforts, and the narcotics unit was working to combat any potential drugs flowing into SPAC.

"The impact it has on us from a resource standpoint is tremendous," Catone said.

Friday afternoon, narcotics officers, including Catone, searched suspicious vehicles stopped for vehicle and traffic violations, finding drugs in some. Last year, a lot of the drugs seized and arrests made resulted from vehicle stops, Catone said.

Drugs aren't the only problem with concerts similar to Phish, though. Catone pointed out that pedestrian and vehicle traffic along Route 9 is a problem, particularly with the large crowds that concerts like this bring.

"There were four years straight when Dave Matthews Band concerts were associated with fatal accidents," he said.

Catone said police will monitor walkers up and down that stretch of road, trying to keep people out of the road.

"We want people to come and have a good time," Catone said, "but we can't let them have such a good time that there are fatal accidents and drug overdoses."

Catone suggested that drivers avoid the South Broadway corridor and routes 9 and 50 near SPAC after 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.